One month left until my very first bodybuilding competition. I am pumped, but I feel the grind coming!
Diet
The week started with a potential refeed during the week. We didn’t want to decide immediately and waited a few days. My weight didn’t go down on the first days, but only up by quite a lot. So instead of a refeed, we dropped calories again… I am now at just over 1700 kcal. Calories went fast, lol. I was just about to appreciate the 1800 kcal. So now, I am trying to adjust mentally to the lower calories. This is what is, for me, the biggest challenge. I am not necessarily hungry throughout the day. Simply knowing my body gets ess food is what’s mentally challenging while still bringing my best every day in and outside of the gym.
We have only four weeks left, and we need that glute-ham tie to pop, which currently is not yet. I hold on to too much body fat around my glute and hamstrings.
Meal of the week: Not really a meal, but this week definitely my go-to protein source as I was traveling all week: beef jerky. I found beef jerky about half a year ago. I was never a big meat eater when I was a teen. Listening to the world’s best fitness and health podcasts has made me start eating more high-quality meat. And as I absolutely love traveling and being on the go, I tried beef jerky from Jack link’s. The hot & sweet spice is absolutely delicious and so good for high-quality protein on the go. I am happy I did!
I always try to get as much protein from whole foods as possible. I believe whole foods contribute to a higher quality muscle mass than getting it from a processed powder. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate protein powder and put a little in my oatmeal every morning or have a shake before bed if I still need some proteins to hit my target. Still, I think nothing beats the quality of meat or eggs. (Sidenote: Just my own thoughts and theories)
Workouts
My workouts are still excellent. I notice that the lower calories slowly but surely make me a bit lazy. My motivation to go to the gym is lacking every other day. Nevertheless, as soon as I start with my first exercise and have some EAAs, I feel pumped and ready to push through. On most lifts, I still lift my past maximum load. Cardio on rest days is really interfering with my recovery. Cardio we decreased back to 30 minutes on upper body days. Let’s see how long this lasts. Although I don’t mind some cardio, especially when I can hop on my bike and ride a little outside, I absolutely enjoy it.
Overall feeling
After my last post describing how mentally challenging the week was, this week was much better. I was able to pull myself together, got mentally stronger again, charged up by having quality time with my man, and feel ready to attack the next weeks.
Prep shows its effects in lower energy, lacking motivation, etcetera. But the adjustment of no cardio on rest days really helped me get back on track.
This weekend, I spent in Cologne at Fibo, one of the biggest health & fitness trade fairs. It was a blast. Although it was smaller than in past years, I am happy it happened again this year. I was able to try out a couple of things. One was the bodyweight 360° scan. I am not sure how accurate it is, but it definitely measured a lot. From weight to lean muscle mass, body fat, and analyzed posture.
Summary
This week was good, although prep struggles are coming every other day.
I notice motivation for additional activities is going down, and the need for rest increases. We decreased calories but also cardio. My weight hasn’t changed at the start of the week but has made another nice drop end of this week after we dropped calories again. My period made weighting in a roller coaster every day. Between 63,5kg to 64,9 kg pretty much every number was included. Weighting in gets more and more emotional. While I am usually really good at detaching from the number on the scale, It can get depressing at times. Just trying to not focus too hard on it. In the end the overall look counts.
The weekend in cologne at Fibo was a blast. We had a great workout in one of the gyms in cologne: “Kraft Station Köln”. They have a fantastic posing room to practice posing ad see all angles in perfect lighting. This gave me a huge boost, as the lighting makes a big difference.
I am ready to attack the last four weeks of prep. They will go super quick. I still need to finalize my bikini, which is still missing crystals. Trying not to stress. Everything will be good.
Interested in previous posts on this topic?
- 5 weeks out – my prep to stage 2022
- 6 weeks out – My very first prep to bikini 2022
- 7 weeks out – My very first prep to bikini 2022
- 8 weeks out! My very first prep to bikini 2022
- Week #9 – Road to bikini 2022
- It’s about halftime! Week #8 – Road to Bikini 2022
- Week #5 – Road to Bikini 2022
- Week #4 – Road to Bikini 2022
- Week #3 – Road to Bikini 2022
- Week #2 – Road to Bikini 2022
- Week #1 – Road to Bikini 2022
- My Road to Bikini 2022